Liz blinked her eyes sleepily as sunlight filtered in through her eyelids and imposed on her dreams. She sighed and tried to ignore the bright beams, snuggling closer to her warm pillow. Suddenly, her eyes popped open and she sat up quickly, staring down at Max next to her in bed. Her hands flew to her face as her mind registered the shock of seeing him sleeping next to her. She’d almost completely forgotten the events of the last day when Max had finally come back to her. Her movements startled Max a little and he mumbled in his sleep.

"Liz?"

She softened at his whispering of her name. She brushed the rumpled hair away from his forehead as he settled back into a peaceful sleep. Carefully, she slid off the bed and watched Max for a minute. She held her breath, realizing she felt as though she were waiting to wake up from any of the countless dreams she’d had of Max coming back. Reassured that he wasn’t going to leave anytime in the next ten minutes, she resolved to shower before he woke up.

Max stirred when he heard the sound of running water from the bathroom. But his bathroom in his apartment was on the other side of the room. He opened his eyes and smiled when he remembered that he was in Liz’s apartment. And her bed was much more comfortable than his was. Now that it was daytime, he could see where Liz and Max had lived for the last ten years. He padded out to the living room and to the tiny kitchen, pouring a glass of water before he went to the main room. He froze when his eyes settled on the dozens of framed pictures covering the walls like a collage.

He felt tears prickling his eyes as he looked at the pictures of him and Liz. And all the pictures taken from their high school days back at Roswell. He didn’t think he was ever going to be able to repay her for how she and the others had not given up on him and Michael. Frowning, he checked his watch. He should probably call Corrine in Venezuela to see if Michael had returned from Angel Falls. Max really wanted to give Maria and her kids a better idea when Michael would be joining them. Max grinned, knowing that Michael would never be able to leave once he heard there was no reason to and once he caught sight of Maria and their children.

"Hey."

Max turned quickly at the sound behind him and smiled as his son walked through the front door. He put his glass down and faced Max, who yawned as he walked up to his father.

"Too much excitement last night?" Max asked, causing his son to grin.

"Yeah, but only the good kind," he replied.

"I never got a chance to thank you, for bringing Liz to the Park yesterday. Without you I don’t know if I would have gotten the nerve to confront her," Max admitted. His son nodded and looked hesitantly at him.

"I know this is kind of new to you," Max said, gesturing to the pictures and the obvious remnants of his life back in Roswell.

"It’s a lot to think about, but this is all something I’ve wanted, so badly, for as long as I can remember. I know that this is where I belong, even if it’ll take some adjustment," Max replied, more convinced than ever. "I do wish that I’d been more a part of your life though, Max"

Max looked at the father he’d always known that he had and he was silent. More than anything, he’d wished for a father who was there on birthdays and for every occasion from Christmas to baseball games. But he’d never doubted that he had a father, and that his father would care about him.

"Me too, Dad," Max said quietly. His father’s head shot up, and he struggled not to grin too widely when Max called him Dad for the first time.

"We can start from now on, I’ll be a part of your life from now on, and you’ll be a part of mine," Max promised and his son nodded in agreement.

"Mom said that you liked to play baseball back in high school," Max mentioned.

"Yeah, I started to play on the school team junior year," He agreed.

"I play first base on the team that Beth, Mike, Belle and I are on," Max said.

"Really? That’s the position I played."

Liz watched from the doorway of the living room, watching her son and Max, talking as though they’d known each other their entire lives. She knew they had catching up on to do, but seeing them together made her heart swell. She wondered if Max realized that their son looked exactly like him when he was the same age. She was staring at them when Max looked up at her and smiled.

"Hi Mom!" he said, walking over to give her a hug before he went to his room. She kissed him on the forehead before she walked towards Max. He tentatively reached for her and she easily walked into his arms. She felt him sigh and she looked into his eyes.

"What is it?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"I just never expected to be able to walk back into this life," he replied. She thought for a minute.

"Max, it’s almost like you never even left. I know things have changed, but they haven’t changed for the worse, have they?" she asked, suddenly fearful that all the adjustments he was making were too much.

"Oh, God no, Liz. Things have changed for the better in every conceivable way. I just can’t believe that I have you, I have our son, and that we’re all together. It’s been ten years since I last heard my name from anyone from my past other than Michael. I was worried that Max was gone, and that thought, the thought of what we had being gone, scared me more than anything," Max said, stroking her face with his hands. He touched her soft skin and her damp hair with gentle fingers.

"So you’ve gone by a different name all these years?" Liz asked curiously. He nodded and she nudged him. "Well, what was it?"

"Parker Maxwell."

Liz smiled softly, realizing that all through the ten years they’d been apart, Max had held a piece of her close by, and that he’d thought of her every day. When he leaned down to kiss her she melted against him and closed her eyes as his hands cradled her face and neck. As his mouth opened to her she groaned against him, her hands squeezing his shoulders.

"Missed you," he murmured against her lips. She laughed a little and Max smiled, he’d missed the velvety sound of her laugh.

"I can tell," she managed to whisper back, pressing against him. Max caught his breath and groaned at the feel of her soft body, almost closer than his own skin.

"Baseball."

Liz pulled back and looked at him quizzically.

"Baseball?"

"Max said there’s a baseball game in the Park in less than an hour," Max said, his finger tracing her collarbone through the neckline of her shirt. Liz groaned and closed her eyes.

"I forgot. Don’t forget where we left off, we’ll continue this later" Liz said pointedly as she reluctantly backed away, heading for the kitchen. Max smiled and watched her go, knowing there was no possible way he could forget.

"So, what has Michael been doing in Venezuela all these years?" Liz asked Max. They were sitting next to the baseball diamond in the Great Lawn where the kids were in the middle of the fifth inning for their game. Maria had gone to buy some popcorn and left them spread out on the blanket. Liz sat crosslegged, with Max next to her, and she kept a watchful eye on the game and the kids.

"When we first got to Mexico Michael and I didn’t really do much other than the occasional odd job so we could eat and pay rent. One day Michael read about a UFO sighting in Venezuela and he wanted to go. I didn’t care too much, so I went with him. We ended up living in Caracas where Michael would go out for a few weeks at a time, find nothing and come back. I stayed in town and wrote until I left five years ago. Michael was always so determined, he kept searching even though he never found anything," Max said, his eyes wandering up to the blue sky.

"Why did you leave?" Liz asked, trying to better understand how Max had ended up in New York City.

"I just couldn’t take the silence around me. I felt like I needed noise, people all around to hide me. I felt restless all the time, like I needed to keep moving. I was even feeling that way when Max found me. I’d just decided to return to Venezuela when Beth came running down the path with Max behind her," Max said, looking at Liz. She’d frozen at the thought of Max leaving, that she would have missed him again.

"What made you decide to leave this time?" she asked softly. When Max hesitated, she took his chin in her hand, forcing him to look at her.

"Max, what made you decide to leave?"

Max opened his mouth, suddenly fearful of what she might say when he told her he’d decided to leave because he’d seen her. Finally, he took a deep breath and knew he had to tell her the truth. No more secrets.

"I saw you in the museum the other day. I was doing an interview and someone told me you were married. I didn’t think it was safe for me to be near you still, but I knew that the thought of you so close, even in the same city, I knew it would be impossible to stay away. I couldn’t risk your safety," Max said. Liz nodded slowly and closed her eyes, both understanding and pained at the same time. He’d almost left again. If not for their son, they wouldn’t even be sitting together and he wouldn’t have come back to her.

"I’ve been telling people I was married for years. It was just easier. And then there were less questions about Max," she held up her left hand, drawing his attention to the wedding band on her finger. His eyes widened and he wondered how he hadn’t noticed that she still wore the ring.

"But Max, I’ve been married to you in my heart for ten years. Probably longer. I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember and that feeling hasn’t changed or faded with time. I think that’s why I could never let go of you, I didn’t want to and my heart wouldn’t let me," Liz replied, tears gathering in her eyes as she recalled the unhappy years they’d been apart and the happier years before then, when they’d all been together in Roswell. Max stroked her face gently, touching the soft skin of her neck and murmuring to her.

"I couldn’t stay anywhere, even with Michael around. Everywhere I looked, I thought of you and wished you were there. So I kept running. I’m just glad I ran here," Max said, pulling Liz into his arms. She moved to lean against him, wrapped up in his arms and close enough to press her ear against his chest. She smiled as she listened to his heart thud quietly. With his hand playing with the ring on her finger, Liz sighed with content and watched their son on first base.

"Liz?"

"Hmm?" Liz’s voice was slightly sleepy as she looked up at Max. His eyes were hopeful as he looked down at her.

"Marry me?"

For just a second she wondered if he were kidding. His question had been so out of the blue from where they were and what they were doing. Watching their son play a baseball game, not in some fancy restaurant, like the Rainbow Room, with candlelight, champagne and Max down on one knee. Her smile widened as she thought about how much more perfect those two words had seemed because of where they were, because it wasn’t that fancy restaurant.

"Yes."

Max grinned, hearing all the answer he needed as he leaned down to kiss her lips.

"Hey, Parker! Who’s that guy with your mom?" Jimmy, right field, yelled to Max as they waited for the next batter to come to the plate. Max glanced at his parents, his mother sitting in his father’s lap and he grinned. It was like a dream come true. His mother had Max back, she’d never looked happier, and he finally had a father.

"That’s my Dad," Max said, trying to sound nonchalant. Jimmy nodded, looking a little puzzled. Everyone knew what Liz had told them, that she was married, but they’d never seem Max’s father until that day. He didn’t know how he would ever get used to saying he had a father, and being able to point right at him. He glanced at Beth, who was smiling at him. He noticed the sadness in her eyes, behind her smile, and he wished that Michael would arrive. Max felt uneasy, like Michael should have been there by then, but he didn’t want to worry anyone, so he kept the thoughts to himself.

His thoughts were scattered as Beth called his name and he whipped his head around to watch as the batter hit the ball and it came straight for him. Snatching it out of the air, he touched the base quickly before hurling it at Beth on second base as the first base runner barreled for her. She met his eyes and caught the ball easily, and they completed the double play with practiced ease. Max grinned as he heard his mother cheering and he looked back behind him as his father’s voice joined in. Beth ran up to him as they started to head infield.

"It’s nice, isn’t it?" she asked quietly. Max turned to look at her and smiled widely.

"Yeah, it is. He’ll be here soon Beth," Max said, trying to sound confident.

"I hope so," Beth replied, jogging ahead of him. Max followed her and tried to shake the discomfort he felt. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, something didn’t feel right.

After they won the game, the kids joined Max, Liz and Maria by the side of the baseball diamond. Beth grinned when Max’s father lifted her up and placed her on his broad shoulders, and he grinned at her laughter. Max had seen how Beth naturally gravitated towards his father, he had a feeling it was because Max was the closest anyone had been to her own father. Liz was pulling Max over to her and then she called to her son. The group fell silent as Max and Liz traded shy glances until young Max exploded.

"What is it?"

"We’re getting married," Liz said, reaching for her fiancé’s hand, interlacing her fingers with his. Max looked at his parents, shaking his head in disbelief. As if there had been any doubt, he thought. But looking at them, he realized they might have doubted it, ten years had made them a bit tentative. After Maria finished giving Liz hugs the two women began to talk about wedding plans and they all began to walk back towards the apartment.

Without saying a word to Max or Liz, Maria managed to get the kids back at her apartment, giving Liz a pointed look as they walked down the hall. Liz pulled out her key and tried to unlock the door of her apartment, but she found that her hand was shaking. Max stood closely behind her, she could feel his breath on her neck. When his arm came around her, to help steady her hand and unlock the door, she heaved a sigh.

Somehow they made it inside and Max turned her around, trapping her in his arms against the door. She swallowed nervously as his eyes trailed up and down her body. Sensing the tension in her body, he ran a hand over her long hair, trying to calm her.

"Liz, what is it? We don’t have to do anything, I’d be more than happy to just hold you," he said, and Liz felt the tension leave her body at his words.

"It’s not that. I just, haven’t done this in such a long time," she stammered. "Not since we were together."

"I know, neither have I," Max replied. They both realized that their breathing had synchronized and that Liz’s hands had come to rest on his shoulders, gently pushing his leather jacket off. He watched her as she removed the coat from his body and when she finally looked back up at him, he claimed her mouth with his. Liz felt as if the last ten years melted away and she was eighteen years old again, loving Max as if no time had passed.

Rolling over gently, Max kissed Liz’s bare shoulder before he pulled on his jeans as he got out of bed. She was sleeping quietly, and he was careful not to wake her. It was warm out, so he left his shirt where Liz had tossed it on the floor and he padded barefoot out to the kitchen. It was late afternoon and Max looked outside, watching the sun lowering in the sky. Just yesterday at that time he’d been in the Park, meeting Liz again. He smiled a little at the thought, wondering at how everything had changed in twenty four hours. He ran a hand through his hair and went to grab the phone. Dialing quickly, he waited as the phone rang. After the fifth ring he started to grow impatient until a voice finally picked up.

"Hello?"

"Corrine, it’s Max."

"Max! Good to hear from you, how is Michael? Was his trip uneventful?"

At Corrine’s words, Max felt a chill run through his body.

"Michael’s not here yet Corrine. When did he leave?"

"Goodness, he left five days ago Max! He got back into town and left immediately upon receiving your message. What could have happened to him?" Corrine’s voice began to take on a hint of worry.

"I don’t know, but I’ll find him. I’ll keep in touch."

"Please do. Max, be careful."

Max nodded to himself as he said goodbye and disconnected the call. He placed the phone on the kitchen table and turned to stare back out at the city. He’d been so preoccupied with the last few days that he hadn’t even begun to notice the uneasy feeling in the back of his mind. Something had happened, but he didn’t know what. He whispered to himself as he tried to tamp down the dread.

"Where are you Michael?"